This 32 year-old reminiscence of the closing moments of the Civil War, told from a Southern perspective, recall it all in the simplest terms - the letters exchanged between the commanders, the McLean House secured, agreeing to terms and Lee's exit. The intended audience for this article was the young men of the South who came after the war.

"Is it strange that the world wondered when 7,892 infantry, 63 pieces of artillery, and 2,100 cavalry was all that was left to surrender to an army of more than 75,000 men?"